Could I Be More Obvious?
by krissyjoy
Summary: Events from Imogen's past have made her who she is and affect everything she does. As her friendship with Fiona grows closer and her feelings get more complicated, how will Imogen react? Imogen's point of view of events from post-11x33 to 12x6.
1. Chapter 1

On the Monday morning of their suspension, Imogen opened her front door to find Fiona standing there with a coffee and a smile.

"Hey…" Imogen said, surprised. "What are you doing here?" Maybe this week-long suspension wouldn't suck as much as Imogen had anticipated.

"You busy today?" Fiona asked, suddenly looking unsure of herself.

"Not at all." Imogen smiled back widely, still slightly shocked that Fiona Coyne was at her door asking to be her friend. Imogen was still getting used to the idea even though two girls had forged a tentative friendship while they worked together over weekend to clean up the caf. As it turned out, what took twenty seniors thirty minutes to do took Fiona and Imogen twelve hours to undo. Although to be fair, that also included the time they spent goofing off. Even so, Imogen would be glad if she never saw a piece of tinfoil again.

"Want to be busy today? You could give me another makeover or we could plan our revenge?" Fiona suggested. "Or whatever you want, really."

"Totally! Just…" Imogen looked down at her purple monkey pyjamas. "Give me a minute to get changed?"

"You sure?" Fiona teased. "Because you could wear those and I would be okay with that."

"Uh huh?" Imogen gave Fiona an incredulous look. "As much as I appreciate how far you've come in such a short time, I still think I'll put on some real clothes."

There was an awkward pause as Imogen briefly debated what to do next. Fiona was still standing on her front step. "Uh… come in, I guess?" Imogen held the door open and ushered Fiona into the living room. "Um… have a seat. I'll be out in 5 minutes, tops."

Imogen got changed lightning fast. The longer Fiona was in her house… Imogen just didn't want to have to explain anything. People didn't usually come over. As Imogen did her make-up quickly, she mentally cataloged everything Fiona could see from her position in the living room. With any luck, the phone that seemed to be an extension of the other girl would be enough of a distraction.

If Fiona noticed anything she found interesting, she didn't mention it, and when Imogen returned with her camera and suggested they go for a walk, Fiona readily agreed, grabbing their coffees on the way out.

Xxx

"So what did your parents say about the suspension?" Fiona asked as they sat in High Park, looking out over the pond. "My mom was not pleased, but she was less angry when I explained that I couldn't let you take all the blame."

"I didn't tell my dad." Imogen decided not to lie. After all, she and Fiona had been getting along so well.

"Didn't he wonder why you weren't at school? I mean, my mom's not even in town, but I swear she would have known even if I didn't tell her. It's so annoying that she knows me so well."

"I don't think my dad noticed I didn't go to school. He's pretty busy with work. He's a prof at U of T and they just started the school year, too."

Imogen wasn't lying, technically. She just wasn't telling the whole truth. She didn't mention that the last time she had had a meaningful conversation with her father was three years ago. She didn't mention that her father basically walked through life at home like a zombie, rarely coming out of his head long enough to know what Imogen was doing.

"What about your mom?"

There was a million dollar question. What about her mother? "She's in Ottawa. She lives there with her new husband and their new baby. We don't talk much. Needless to say, she doesn't know I'm not in school, either."

Her mother had spent the last year that she was married to Imogen's father drinking to try to escape their problems, and when she sobered up, she left. Imogen didn't blame her – not really. She saw that her parents' marriage was breaking apart, she saw her mother struggle with memories of how things were before, she saw her father withdraw and she saw her mother spiral out of control. It was for the best. It had just hurt so much when her mother left without asking Imogen to come with her.

"Imogen, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know. We don't have to talk about it. Unless you want to." Fiona had obviously heard the bitterness in Imogen's voice, but thankfully didn't seem to want to push the issue if Imogen wasn't comfortable with it.

"It's okay. It's old news." Imogen picked up a nearby stone and tossed it into the pond, trying to make it skip but not succeeding. "Do you want to check out the zoo? The capybaras are my favourite."

"Really? Me too! Everyone else always seems to like the llamas, so I guess we were destined to be friends." Fiona was teasing, but Imogen wondered whether maybe it was true. There was something about Fiona that made Imogen want to open up to her.

"I guess we were." Imogen beamed as she grabbed Fiona's hand and pulled her up. "Come on, Miss Coyne – I'll race you."

Xxx

_Big plans today?_ Imogen got the text message from Fiona on the Tuesday morning of their suspension just after she heard her father leave for work.

_Hanging out with you?_ Imogen sent back and nervously waited for the response, which came almost immediately.

_I was hoping you'd say that :) It's raining – movies?_

_I can be over in 20? _Imogen offered.

_Can't wait :D_

Imogen bounded into the condo as soon as Fiona opened the door. "Can we make a fort? I thought about it all the way over! What's better than a movie fort on a rainy day?"

Imogen savoured the laugh that she got from Fiona. It was so nice to have a friend who didn't seem to mind her weird ideas. "Uh, sure. Why not? I'll, uh, get some blankets and stuff."

Forty minutes and one devastating cave-in later, the two of them lay in a nest of blankets on Fiona's living room floor. As Imogen watched Fiona adjust one of the sides of their fort to make it more stable, it was hard for her to reconcile the image of this girl with the one who had been so desperate to impress Katie and Marisol only a few days before. Imogen decided she much preferred this version of Fiona.

"So what do you want to watch?" Fiona asked, settling back down.

"Umm… you pick. I'm up for whatever."

"Love Actually work for you?" Fiona offered.

"How were we not friends before?"

Xxx

After four movies and a pizza, Imogen lay on the floor of the fort, studying the pattern of the quilt above her. "I guess I should go home. You're probably sick of me by now."

"I'm not sick of you!" Fiona insisted. She seemed to think something over before continuing. "You could stay over if you wanted to. I mean, my mom's out of town and I'm all alone, so it'd be nice to have the company. If you want. You don't have to, of course. _You_ might be sick of _me_."

"I'm not sick of you, either. I'd probably just be sitting at home trying not to be too bored, anyway," Imogen admitted. "Let me just call my dad and let him know."

Imogen crawled out of the fort and wandered into Fiona's room to make the call.

"Hello?" Came her dad's voice.

"Hi dad, it's Imogen. I'm just calling to tell you I'm at a friend's and I'm just going to stay here for the night." Imogen had learned a while ago that she shouldn't ask her father; she should just tell him what she was doing. It made things easier. He didn't seem to want to challenge her, and things got done faster.

"Oh, right. Okay, dear." Great. He was especially spacey today. For once, Imogen was grateful.

"Dad, did you remember to walk Volta?"

"Uh, sure, dear. I'll do it right away." Imogen wondered whether he'd remember and briefly contemplated going home. But Fiona's place was so cozy and she felt so safe here. She quickly decided to stay. She was so glad to finally have a friend. She promised herself she would take Volta out for an extra-long walk when she got home to make up for it.

"Okay, dad. I gotta go, okay?" Imogen wandered around Fiona's room, stopping in front of a framed picture of Fiona and Holly J in what looked like their prom dresses. She wondered whether she would ever have that kind of friendship with anyone.

"Alright. Goodnight, dear."

"So?" Fiona questioned hopefully when Imogen emerged from her bedroom.

"All systems go!" Imogen declared excitedly as she jumped into the fort and onto Fiona, enveloping her in a hug. "Can I borrow some pyjamas?"

Xxx

Imogen woke up confused until she remembered where she was. She rolled over to see whether her friend was still sleeping. Fiona's hair was splayed all over her pillow and her breathing was soft and shallow. Imogen couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. For the first time in a long time, she felt good. Who knew that all it would take was being suspended?

"Mmm… too much bright." Fiona squinted as she opened her eyes into the sunlight that streamed through the window. "Morning."

"Morning," Imogen greeted with a smile. "What do you want to do today, sleepyhead? Only three weekdays and the weekend left until we have to go back to school!"

"Well, my mom's coming home Friday evening so I'll probably be on suspension lockdown all weekend," Fiona grumbled. "But until then I am all yours."

Imogen beamed. "Good, because I have an idea for today."

"Oh really? Care to share, Moreno?" Fiona propped herself up on one elbow and looked up at Imogen.

Imogen jumped out of bed and began digging through her bag.

"What are you doing?" Fiona asked curiously.

Imogen brightened when she found what she was looking for, turning and quickly taking a picture of Fiona before the older girl could protest. "You just looked so... I just had to take a picture."

Fiona blushed, but struck a pose, so Imogen took another shot. "Be my model today? We could check out the Distillery District? There are so many interesting buildings there. It could be really cool."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Okay, but no more of these boudoir shots. I'm not that kind of girl."

"Uh huh?" Imogen teased as she jumped back onto the bed and leaned back against Fiona to get a shot of the two of them. "Let's get dressed."

Xxx

"So your dad still doesn't know?" Fiona asked the next day with a little more confidence now that she and Imogen had been spending so much time together.

"Nope," Imogen replied as she played her tile and made her move. "Your turn."

"How is that even possible? He didn't notice when you left this morning without your uniform?"

Imogen studied the Carcassonne board as she considered how truthful to be with her answer. "Honestly, I don't think my dad notices much of anything unless it has to do with work."

"Sometimes I wish my mom was like that," Fiona commented as she placed her token on a field. "She can be such a pain sometimes."

"Trust me, Fiona, you don't," Imogen's voice had gone from casual to serious without her realizing it. "Sometimes I wonder whether he would even notice if I didn't come home at all. At least you know your mom loves you."

Fiona looked up at Imogen, concern etched on her face. "Im, I'm sure your dad loves you. I mean, he cared enough to get custody of you after the divorce, right?"

"I guess," sighed Imogen, unconvinced but not wanting to get into all the details in the middle of the board game café. "Hey, have you ever tried the blueberry cheesecake smoothie here? It's to die for."

To her credit, Fiona got the hint. "Let's get two? Loser buys?"

Imogen relaxed a little bit and focused her attention back on the board. "Oh my god, you stole my field!"

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice!" laughed Fiona as she played the last tile of the game. "But it's too late now and at last I finally have a chance of beating you. Has anyone ever told you that you are freakishly good at this game? Let's count them up!"

Xxx

Hours later, as they stood waiting for the subway at Bathurst Station, Imogen teased Fiona about her formidable losing streak. Even having stolen Imogen's field, the older girl still managed to lose to her friend by 7 points. Four more games of Carcassonne, two games of Clue, three games of Scattergories and one disastrous game of Scrabble later, Fiona had yet to beat Imogen at anything.

"Maybe I was just distracted, okay?" Fiona made excuses, trying to redeem herself.

"You were distracted? All afternoon?" Imogen was doubtful. "By what, exactly?"

"Ummm…" Imogen watched as Fiona looked around, obviously trying to come up with something as the train pulled into the station. "Your hair. I was distracted by your hair. It's so… distracting."

"You are a horrible liar," Imogen laughed as she linked her arm through Fiona's and lead them into the subway car. "So you should just admit that I am the Board Game Queen so we can move on from this."

"Never! You just got lucky or cheated or something!" Fiona was starting to get flustered.

"And here I thought you were distracted with my hair," Imogen brought her hand up to her lips and pretended to be confused. "Changing your story already, Coyne?"

"My story is consistent!" Fiona insisted. "I was distracted _and _you were lucky."

"Why is it so hard for you to admit that I am amazing and you could never be as awesome as me?"

Fiona glared at her, but Imogen knew she was just playing. "Remind me again why I'm friends with you? Because I'm pretty sure it's not your humility."

"I'm pretty sure it's because I'm the only one who will be your friend," Imogen teased.

"Oh yeah," Fiona conceded, laughing. "Guess I'm stuck with you, then."

Fiona's station was called and Imogen sighed.

"You okay?" asked Fiona as she hugged Imogen goodbye.

"I'm fine. Just not feeling like going home yet."

"Want to come over?" Fiona offered immediately. "I haven't cleaned up the fort yet. We could hang out."

"You wouldn't mind?" Imogen checked as the doors opened at St. George Station.

Fiona rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want you to come."

"Okay." Imogen smiled and tried to ignore the fluttery feeling in her chest when Fiona smiled back.

Xxx

_So are you on suspension lockdown all weekend? _Imogen sent the text message when she got home. She had spent the rest of Thursday night and most of Friday at Fiona's condo, but Fiona's mom had just come home, so they probably wouldn't see each other again until Monday at school. Imogen found herself filled with a strange sense of loneliness, especially when she didn't hear back from Fiona.

It was silly, really. She had basically been alone for most of the past few years and yet she suddenly felt it so much more keenly than she had a week ago.

Imogen wondered idly whether she would have yet another event with which to split her life into a dichotomy – pre-Fiona and post-Fiona, this time. It was a dangerous thought, but she couldn't seem to stop thinking about Fiona. Imogen tried to push it out of her mind and took Volta for a run.

When she got back, not having succeeded in the least in pushing Fiona out of her mind, there was a text message waiting for her.

_Yeah. Mom didn't buy that I spent the week studying. Apparently you're right and I AM a bad liar... Is it weird that I miss you?_

Imogen bit her lip as she tapped back her response. _That sucks. And I hope not because I miss you, too, and I feel like such a dolt because I just saw you 3 hrs ago._

Ten seconds later, her phone buzzed. _We can be dolts together :) I gotta go. My mom's taking my phone as part of suspension lockdown :( Goodnight, Im!_

_Night, Fiones :) See you Monday._

Xxx

"Ugh, 40 percent of our mark to build an entire dollhouse?" Fiona complained as they left class a few weeks after their suspension was over.

"40 percent?" Eli asked as he joined them. "I thought Life Skills was supposed to be a bird course."

"Well I'm excited! I already have like a bazillion ideas." Imogen wasn't lying. She was really looking forward to this project.

Design was one of the only passions her father had managed to pass on to her before their lives had completely changed. When she was young, her father used to take them out for walks in whatever city they were living in that year and he would point out all the different architectural styles. When they lived in Montreal, her school had been two blocks from her father's office. Her parents decided that it made more sense for her to go there after school than to have to take the metro home by herself. So every afternoon her father set her up with paper and pens to work on one side of his large desk. Instead of doing her homework, Imogen would copy whatever he was doing, so he started teaching her. As a result, Imogen knew more than the average teenager about architecture. She supposed her interests in art and photography were also directly related to the time she had spent drawing plans with her dad. That was one thing she could thank him for, at least.

"This project is going to take us forever, isn't it?" Fiona asked when she saw the look on Imogen's face. Imogen decided she wouldn't really mind if it did, but she kept that thought to herself.

The increasing frequency with which Fiona made her feel giddy over the last couple weeks was confusing the heck out of Imogen. So far, her strategy of ignoring it and hoping it would go away was not working, but she hadn't given up hope completely.

"At least all that extra togetherness will give you guys time to perfect your revenge on Katie and Marisol. How is that going, by the way?" Eli asked.

"Umm… we've got nothing." Imogen snuck a guilty look at Fiona as she spoke. The truth was that they hadn't even talked about Katie and Marisol since the first day of their suspension when Fiona had shown up at her doorstep. In all the excitement of being Fiona's friend and the confusion of what exactly she was supposed to be feeling as Fiona's friend, Imogen had forgotten that the two of them were supposed to be strategizing payback.

"Yeah, I figured." Eli teased. Imogen's heart didn't skip a beat when Eli gave her a smile the way it would have last year, but maybe Imogen just wasn't trying hard enough. After all, there was no reason Fiona's face should make her heart flutter while Eli's didn't. She was friends with both of them. Equally. Maybe she just needed to test some things to make sure that her world still made sense.

"Maybe we'd be a bit more successful if the master of diabolical revenge plots stepped up to the plate?" Fiona bantered with Eli as Imogen's mind wandered.

"Sorry, I'm retired."

"Mmm… just as well." Imogen said, walking up to Eli and speaking into his ear in her most flirtatious tones. "Your last few schemes weren't very good."

"Boo to you!" She heard as Eli followed her down the hall.

Nope. No butterflies.

"Coming?" she stopped to wait for Fiona, who nodded and gave her a smile that lit up Imogen's heart.

Well, damn it.


	2. Chapter 2

Friday night found them beginning construction of their mini-house at the Coyne condo.

"Ugh, my arms are killing me. When do we get to the fun stuff, like deciding where to put the hot tub?"

"I think we should concentrate on making the floors level first." Imogen teased.

Fiona was complaining, but Imogen knew she didn't really mean it. They had already spent hours brainstorming about their house – in fact, they had already decided where to put the hot tub. According to Fiona, a hot tub was an indispensable amenity. When Imogen demanded to know why there wasn't one in the Coyne condo if it was so essential, Fiona looked at her strangely – of course there was. Needless to say, they had spent the next while brainstorming in said hot tub. Not Imogen's best work, since her brain had been short-circuiting from the sight of Fiona in a black bikini.

"Woah. These sketches are amazing." Fiona's compliment restarted Imogen's brain.

"My dad taught me. When he's not teaching at the university, he consults on unique urban-scaping projects. We moved around a lot when I was a kid." Imogen was surprised how easily the information came out. Somehow, talking to Fiona – volunteering information about her family she normally wouldn't tell anyone – felt natural.

"We moved from place to place when I was younger, too." Fiona revealed.

"Really? We're lucky that the universe brought us together, then. We must be soulmates." Imogen couldn't keep the slight flirt out of her voice. Even though the plan had been to just ride out this crush, maybe she should just test Fiona a little – see if she sent any signs of possibly liking Imogen back.

"So, uh. Are you and Eli going to get together and date or what?"

Well there went that idea.

"Don't ask me about him. I never know what that boy's thinking." Imogen wasn't sure if that answer was non-committal enough for Fiona, who seemed strangely fixated on pursuing this line of questioning.

"Well you were totally obsessed with him during the play. Feelings like that don't just go away," Fiona was explaining.

Oh god, it was so embarrassing that Fiona knew and witnessed her obsession with Eli. Looking back, Imogen knew there were reasons for her actions. She had heard that they might have some things in common, and her home life hadn't exactly been great. She thought they could connect and she was just looking for someone who would understand her. He was a good guy and she liked him and it had felt so good to just focus on someone else – well, it had felt good until he hurt her. But Imogen knew she had matured since then. She wasn't exactly looking to revisit all of it, but she didn't know how to explain all that to Fiona.

"I _was_ obsessed." Imogen stressed, trying to think of a way to express her complete romantic disinterest in Eli. "But I locked those feelings in a box, strapped that box to a rocket, sent the rocket to the moon, and if I ever need feelings for Eli again, I know where to find them – on the moon."

That seemed to Imogen like a sufficient rebuttal of any and all feelings for Eli. After all, the last manned mission to the moon was in 1972 and Imogen wasn't nearly interested enough in science to be involved in the next one. When Fiona laughed, Imogen was relieved her friend had gotten the picture.

Xxx

As they lay in Fiona's bed that night, Imogen wondered whether Fiona was as acutely aware of Imogen's proximity as Imogen was of hers. When she accidently brushed Fiona's arm with her own, a shot raced through her body and she didn't pull back.

"Hey Im?" Imogen heard Fiona roll over so she was facing the middle of the bed.

"Yeah?" Imogen rolled over to face Fiona. She was barely able to see her in the dim light of the bedroom, so she inched closer.

"Does it weird you out that I'm gay?"

Imogen actually laughed. "Of course not! Why would you even ask that, you idiot?"

"I don't know. We never really talked about it. And obviously I don't think you have a problem with it, but…" Fiona paused. "I dunno."

"What's really on your mind?" Imogen asked, sensing that Fiona was thinking about something else.

There was a long pause before Fiona spoke again. "Does it bother you that I'm an alcoholic?"

"Only if it doesn't bother you that I used to be an obsessed stalker," Imogen deadpanned.

"No, I'm serious, Imogen."

"Fiones, the only thing that bothers me is that you ever felt so bad about things that you needed to start drinking in the first place."

"I'm really glad we're friends. Despite everything I told myself after rehab, I was really terrified this year would suck and I would just go back to my old habits. Especially since Holly J is away at Yale. I didn't think I would really have anyone. And sometimes I'm so afraid that something will happen to send me over the edge again." Even in the darkness, Imogen could tell just how sad Fiona looked.

"Come here." Imogen opened her arms and Fiona shuffled over into them. "I might not be Holly J, but you know I'm always here for you, right?"

Imogen felt Fiona nod into her shoulder, and she stroked the older girl's hair.

"My mom drank a lot. Before she left." Imogen wasn't sure why she said that. She hadn't planned on telling Fiona. She hadn't planned on telling anyone. Fiona pulled back so she was looking at Imogen, who was trying desperately not to look like she didn't want to talk about it.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. You know that right?" Fiona looked so concerned about her that Imogen just wanted to tell her everything.

"I know… I want to. It's just… I haven't really told anyone. And it's kind of a long story." Imogen flopped down so she was staring at the ceiling. She knew if she was looking at Fiona when she spoke, she would burst into tears. She took a deep breath and prayed to a god she wasn't sure she believed in that she wouldn't cry until after she was done. "I have a sister. Had a sister. I never know how to phrase that. Her name was Elizabeth and she was 4 years older than me. I told you earlier that we moved around a lot. Because of that, Liz and I were pretty inseparable. It sounds corny, but we were really close to our parents, too. Other kids never really liked me and we never stayed anywhere more than a few years, so mom and dad and Liz were my best friends."

Imogen paused. Seconds seemed to turn into minutes as she fought back tears. She felt Fiona's eyes on her and inhaled sharply when Fiona reached over to hold her hand. It was comforting and, with a sigh, she continued. "A year after we moved to Toronto, Liz was in an accident at a friend's cottage. She died right away, which I _know logically_ is a good thing because she didn't suffer, but I always selfishly wished I could have said goodbye."

Imogen knew there were now tears streaming down her face, but she couldn't stop them. Fiona reached out to gently wipe them away before pulling Imogen back into a hug.

"After Liz died… Mom got really angry and started drinking to get through it. When she sobered up and left Toronto, she didn't take me with her – I think I remind her too much of Lizzy. Now she has this new family… My dad basically shut down, which is why he never knows what's going on with me. He wasn't always like that. He used to joke and sing. I guess he just couldn't deal with losing Liz and mom. I… tried to hold us together, but I couldn't do it by myself. Now dad basically just immerses himself in his work, so he's really successful with that, but with everything else, he's just… blank. I know he needs me here, but it's hard. I just miss Liz. I miss them all."

Imogen lost control. The tears started flowing fast as sobs wracked her body. Fiona just held her, unsure of what else to do, until there was stillness.

"I'm sorry." Imogen pulled away, embarrassed. "I didn't mean to unload all of that on you."

"Don't be sorry, Imogen. I'm so sorry that all happened to you. You are one of the most amazing people I know and you deserve only good things to happen to you. You deserve to be happy."

"Thanks. Um… I don't usually… Look, nobody else really knows. Anything. At all. Not even Eli." Imogen fiddled with the edge of Fiona's duvet cover as she spoke.

"I won't tell anyone. I promise."

"Can I have another hug?" Imogen asked.

Fiona immediately opened her arms. "Come here. I love you. I'm here for you, you know."

"I know." Imogen replied as she settled into Fiona's arms. It was strange to her how safe she felt – strange, but comforting. Imogen closed her eyes.

"Sleep now?"

Imogen nodded, nuzzling into Fiona's shoulder.

As she lay in Fiona's arms and listened to the other girl's breathing slow down and even out, Imogen contemplated the recent turn of events. Ever since the accident, she had acted like nothing was wrong. She had built up these walls that she never let anyone past. She covered those walls up with so many layers of quirkiness so that nobody would ever suspect that they were even there. She had gotten really good at acting really weird so that nobody would find out how broken she really was. And now here was Fiona, a girl who she had barely known even a few weeks ago, somehow making her feel safe enough to get her to willingly share all of the things she had hidden so well for so long.

"I love you, too," she whispered, feeling safe in her knowledge that the sleeping girl couldn't hear her.

Xxx

Monday morning at school, Imogen was waiting for Fiona before class. She had had an especially tough weekend at home and she was thrilled to see Fiona.

"Sorry!" Fiona rushed up once she was off the phone. That girl was so damn cute when she was apologizing. Or when she was embarrassed. Or when she was happy. Or anytime, really.

"Make a lady wait, why don't you?" Imogen teased before launching into business mode. "So what's the plan for finishing up our mini-house? 40 percent of our life skills class mark? Ring any bells?" They had made a good start, but they needed to finish the project so they could give their presentation the next day.

"Yeah! Of course. Let's meet up tonight."

"Okay, good. Let's go in." Imogen just wanted to get started with the day, so they could go to Fiona's. And maybe even get another of those amazing hugs that lasted just a little too long.

"Uh, now." Fiona reached out and grabbed Imogen's arm, which shot electricity through her body and instantly made her mood a little better. "Eli. He told me that he's ready to take your relationship to the next level."

The second Fiona said their friend's name, Imogen's stomach turned to knots and she tried her best not to look frustrated. "Why were you talking to him about me?"

"Uh, your name just casually came up." Fiona always shifted her eyes when she lied. It was one of the reasons she was such a bad liar. "Soo I asked him and he's very into you."

"Really? I thought we were just friends." As much as Imogen liked Fiona, regardless of what exactly that meant, it did feel good to have someone like her. Even if it wasn't the person she would have preferred.

"I'm so excited!" Fiona blurted out.

"Why are you excited?" Now Imogen was genuinely confused.

Fiona just shrugged and pulled them into the school. Imogen was pretty sure this wouldn't be the last she'd hear of Eli. The very thought made her a little sick.

Xxx

"I had a brainwave – solar panels on the roof!" Imogen was so absorbed in her design ideas that she didn't even notice the blankets, pillows and candles on the floor.

"Uh… hi! Come in!" It was the strange tone in Fiona's voice that snapped Imogen out of her architecture roll.

"Oh! A carpet picnic. How fun!" Imogen didn't think it was that odd. After all, she and Fiona had made sort of a habit of making blanket forts. The candles seemed a little bit weird, but before Imogen could think about that one way or the other – and just as Imogen was about pull Fiona into a hug – Eli came around the corner.

"Heyo! Uh, um, hey."

"Eli. Are you helping us on the mini-house?" Now Imogen was really confused. She was having one of those cerebral disconnects when you see something completely outside of what you were expecting and can't process it properly. It took Imogen's brain a minute to catch up.

"Fiona, you didn't tell her?" Eli sounded annoyed.

"Um, sorry." As soon as the words came out of Fiona's mouth, Imogen understood. This was a set-up. One that Fiona didn't ask her about and one that she didn't want. She was over Eli and she didn't really want to go back there again.

Fiona was rambling the way she usually did when she was nervous. "This didn't exactly start out the way I planned, but uh… surprise! So just sit right down and enjoy the picnic and each other and I'll leave you alone."

"Um, is this a date? Eli, I'm so sorry." Imogen was uncomfortable and upset. She was genuinely sorry for Eli. She didn't mean to hurt him. She just… she couldn't do this right now. Not today. All that she had wanted was to get out of her cold and lonely house and come talk to her best friend and do their project. She hadn't anticipated all the pressure and confusion that Fiona setting her up with Eli was causing.

"Hey, it's okay. It's not your fault." Eli said to her, the apology implied in his tone. "… Nice." He directed the last part to Fiona before he walked out the door, clearly upset.

"Eli, wait! I'm sorry!..." Fiona called after him, but it was useless. "What's your deal?" She asked, turning to Imogen.

"Eli and I are not your project!" Imogen was angry and hurt.

"But you like him and he likes you."

Imogen almost laughed. She knew with absolute certainty that she had never told Fiona Coyne that she liked Eli. It was always Fiona telling _her_ that she liked Eli. Every single time. This was ridiculous.

"Why are you being so pushy about this?" Imogen asked exasperatedly, trying to pin down why this hurt so much, because it couldn't just be because she had a ridiculous crush on Fiona. The best she could come up with was that it felt like Fiona was pawning her off on Eli after Imogen had trusted her with everything.

Imogen was kicking herself. She should have known better. Everyone she ever got close to either left or pushed her away.

"I'm just trying to help. It's not my fault that you're too stupid to see that you have a great guy who likes you right under your nose!"

Imogen was livid. She didn't have to be here. She didn't want to be here, either. Why would she want to be friends with someone who didn't want to be friends with her? She'd been there, done that. And she'd vowed to herself that she'd never put herself through that again. If Fiona couldn't handle her past, Imogen didn't need to the extra heartache. She just wished she'd figured it out earlier.

"Well since I'm so _stupid_, you can finish the mini-house by yourself."

When Imogen got to the lobby, she almost turned around. She wasn't the type to leave someone in the lurch on a school project. But the thought of seeing Fiona right now made her chest burn and her eyes sting. Whatever. The mini-house was mostly done, anyway. And after tomorrow, she would give Fiona exactly what she wanted and stay away from her.

Xxx

Their presentation went surprisingly well, considering Imogen hadn't been involved in the final preparation. It irritated Imogen how well she and Fiona played off each other, filling in gaps in each other's thinking and resulting in a seamless presentation she was sure would earn them top marks.

Imogen had spent most of the previous night crying into her pillow and trying not to let her father hear her. Not that he probably would have registered it if he had, but she wasn't sure how she would explain it to him if he finally started to act like a real parent again.

When Fiona tried to act as if nothing had happened after their presentation, Imogen ignored her.

"I'm so sorry I was mean to you last night. I shouldn't have pushed you and Eli together," Fiona finally apologized.

"It's fine. I get it." Imogen crossed her arms and uttered the only logical conclusion she had come to about the situation. "You don't want to hang out with me anymore."

It hurt even more to say it out loud than it had when she thought it. Fiona had glimpsed the real Imogen – all of her – and now she didn't want her anymore.

"What? No, that's not it at all! I'm not trying to get rid of you. It's just… We have so much in common and we've been through so much in such a short period of time. It's overwhelming. And whatever happens with Eli, it's not going to change us." Fiona held open her arms and gave Imogen a pitiful look.

Imogen sighed in resignation before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Fiona, deciding against her better judgment to give Fiona the benefit of the doubt. This girl made her do stupid things.

"Oh, I love your hugs. And I like intense friendships," Imogen assured Fiona. "That's why we get A-pluses."

Since Fiona knew about her distinct lack of previous intense friendships, Imogen just hoped that Fiona understood what she really meant but didn't have the guts to say: I like this intense friendship _with you_.


	3. Chapter 3

"Fiones!" Imogen called out the next day as she waved her best friend over. She couldn't help the way her heart skipped when Fiona gave a little wave back.

"Should I tell her?" asked Eli.

"Mmmm. I wanna tell her." Imogen really did want to be the one to tell her. She felt like she owed it to Fiona.

"K, somebody tell me!" Fiona seemed a little bit worried.

"Well, Eli and I had a talk. _The_ talk. And it turns out that we really needed that kick in the pants you gave us."

"We're going on a date!" Eli chimed in.

"Ta da!" Imogen finished with a flourish and as much enthusiasm as possible.

That was kind of an… abridged version of what had happened, but it wasn't exactly a lie. The night before, Eli called her up to apologize. They had started talking. Imogen had been thinking about Fiona ever since Life Skills that afternoon. She decided that maybe it would be a good idea for her to step outside of Fiona's orbit for a little bit. Give herself a little space. Just in case. Despite what she had told Fiona, it worried her how attached she was becoming to the other girl. The closer they got, the faster Fiona would eventually run and the more Fiona would inevitably hurt her. After all, Fiona was already freaked out. She had said as much in Life Skills.

So when Eli asked her out, Imogen thought it might be just the thing to subtly put some distance between them. Besides, Fiona couldn't be upset with her about it because, for some reason Imogen could not understand, Fiona had been pretty persistent in her matchmaking. And so here she was, telling the girl she had a crush on but no shot with that she was dating their best friend. She hoped it was the right thing to do.

"Wow! I am so happy for you guys." Fiona's tone was insincere and her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, which were shifting around like crazy – the classic Fiona tell.

Imogen was confused. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

"Yeah, my two best friends!" Fiona insisted as she pulled them into a hug and held Imogen for a second longer than Eli. "Yay."

"Yay!" chorused Eli and Imogen.

When they pulled out of the hug, Fiona's eyes locked with Imogen's for a moment and Imogen thought she saw pain flicker across her friend's features before Fiona pulled herself together and Eli broke them out of their spell.

"I have to go meet Adam," Eli addressed both girls before turning to Imogen, "but I'll see you tonight?"

"Can't wait!" Imogen said as Eli leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips before he headed off.

"So… wow. That was fast," Fiona said, looking a little shell-shocked.

"Kind of, I guess… I thought you'd be happy. Are you okay? You look like someone just ran over your dog. Except you don't have a dog. You know what I mean."

"I'm fine. Just… Excited."

"You don't really look excited. Are you sure you're okay? If it's too weird for you, I can tell Eli – "

"No!" Fiona interrupted. "I'm 100% sure. I just want you to be happy, Im. You deserve someone who makes you so _so_ happy. Uh… so what are you wearing on your date tonight?" Imogen knew Fiona well enough by now to know that this was a deliberate subject change.

"I don't know yet. Help me decide?" Imogen offered, even though that meant having Fiona over to her house. The last time Imogen had willingly invited anyone over had been before Lizzy died. So much for cooling off their ever-intensifying friendship. Imogen wondered if her father would be there and what Fiona would think of him if he were.

"Of course! What are friends for?"

Xxx

"Wanna watch a movie?" Eli asked one night about a week and a half after they started dating.

"Very much," Imogen smiled, hoping she could 'fake it 'til she made it', so to speak. "But it's late and you're tired."

Eli had just woken up, so it seemed like a good enough excuse. Imogen knew she should want to be spending all her time with Eli, but something just wasn't clicking for her. It might have had to do with a certain brunette she couldn't seem to get off her mind, but thinking too much about that was introducing a whole new level of complication that Imogen would prefer to avoid if possible.

"Not after my power nap!" Eli insisted, looking thoughtful. "Why don't you sleep over?"

Eli's request caught Imogen off-guard, and she tried not to seem like she was panicking. "In your house? In your bed? All night?"

"That's what sleeping over is," Eli teased. "No pressure, though. You can go home if you want."

Eli was such a nice guy. Why couldn't Imogen just get herself to want to be in his bed more than she wanted to go to Fiona's condo and sleep in a fort?

Imogen scrambled for an excuse. "Your parents are home. Are they cool with that?"

"You've met Bullfrog and Cece. They're cool."

So much for that idea. Well… if she was going to walk the walk… "I'll call my dad. Tell him I'm at Fiona's for the night."

When they kissed, Imogen thought for a moment that maybe she could actually make this work, but when Eli's dad interrupted them, she was still a little bit grateful. After an exchange between Eli and Bullfrog that was beyond awkward to witness, Imogen left, feeling more confused than ever.

Xxx

"Hey. You weren't in class this afternoon." Imogen started hesitantly when Eli sat down across from her on the patio the next day.

After the disaster that had been her morning with Eli, it took ten solid minutes of Fiona's prodding and convincing to get her to agree to meet Eli. She didn't know what went wrong between her and Eli, but she was starting to get the impression that no amount of pretending was going to get her through this in one piece.

"Yeah, I had something to take care of. I'm sorry about freaking out over your project." Eli apologized.

"It's okay. I understand." Imogen lied.

"No, I don't want you to be okay. I don't want any special treatment. I just want to be your boyfriend." Eli was upset and Imogen didn't know how to make it up to him.

Imogen took a deep breath, starting to second guess everything she said in case it upset Eli. "Then you better get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness."

"I can do you one better." Eli took a camera box out of the bag he had been carrying and Imogen's heart sank. "Please tell me I didn't get the model wrong."

"Eli, it's perfect." Imogen started to panic in earnest.

"But?" Eli looked genuinely confused as to why she wasn't ecstatic.

"But it must have cost $500!" That was a lot of money. _A lot._ Imogen knew that breaking the camera was an accident. She had upset Eli with her project, and looking back, it was understandable. But it was an accident. She already knew Eli was more into her than she was into him, and she didn't need to feel guilty about him spending so much money on her on top of that. She didn't know how to explain that, though, without hurting him. It seemed easier to blame his disease than to try to explain how she felt about their relationship. "Impulsive spending can be a symptom of bi–"

"Please don't say it." Eli interrupted. Imogen kicked herself because it was clearly the wrong thing to say and she knew better. She just didn't know what the right thing to say was.

Maybe she could fix this if she just pretended everything was okay. Maybe they could go back to normal. "Okay. Thank you. I can't wait to start taking pictures again." Imogen faked her way through the words and hoped it would be enough.

Eli brightened up, so she had obviously done well. "I've got a pocket full of subway tokens. Where do you want to go first?"

"I… can't," Imogen lied again as she got up. She needed time to think. "I've got a long night of much-needed triple-H; homework, a hot bath and Harry Potter."

"Well at least let me walk you home first?" Eli offered.

Imogen searched for an excuse, but nothing came to mind. She couldn't exactly tell Eli that all she wanted to do was go to Fiona's and try to figure out how to fix the mess she'd made. "Fine!"

Eli laughed and took her hand, leading her down the street. Imogen tried to tell herself it would be okay.

Xxx

_Can I come over?_ Imogen shot off the text to Fiona as soon as Eli dropped her off. She felt bad for lying to him, but she really just needed to talk to her best friend to try to sort out what was going on.

_Of course! You know you're always welcome. Have you eaten? _Fiona replied almost instantly.

_Nope. You? Want me to get something? _Imogen sent the message and then wrote a quick note to her dad as she waited for the response.

_If I order from that Indian place you like, can you pick it up on your way? _Imogen's mouth watered. That place was the best.

_Sure thing. Be there in 20._

Imogen grabbed her bag and was already halfway out the door when she got Fiona's reply.

_Can't wait :)_

Why couldn't Imogen's boyfriend make her smile the way she was smiling at her phone right now?

Xxx

"So to what do I owe the honour of your presence?" Fiona asked when Imogen walked in the door with their take-out. "I assume this about what happened with Eli this morning?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to talk about it just yet. Can we eat first?"

"Whatever you want, Miss Moreno," Fiona smiled as she took the bag from Imogen and twirled her way into the kitchen.

"Has anyone ever told you that you can be very weird sometimes?" Imogen teased as she followed – also twirling – close behind.

"I guess _someone_ has rubbed off on me," Fiona turned around right into Imogen, who suddenly found herself face to face with a surprised but smiling Fiona.

Time seemed to slow down. Imogen's eyes fluttered down to Fiona's lips and Imogen could feel the energy between them. It took all of her strength not to lean forward the few centimeters it would take to kiss the other girl, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to pull away completely. It was like they were frozen in place, hovering in a force-field of palpable tension.

Imogen's phone rang in her pocket and broke them out of whatever it was that had just happened.

Imogen turned around, closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. Her whole body was buzzing. What even was that?

She checked her phone. It was Eli. Again. He'd called when she was on the way over, but she had her hands too full with takeout to answer. She pressed "ignore" and turned back to the kitchen.

"So, um…" Fiona started awkwardly as she scooped food onto her plate. "You and Eli. What's up?"

"Well," Imogen began as she grabbed some paneer masala. "You know all about the art room and my camera and how he wasn't in class this afternoon and I got a text asking me to meet him at The Dot. So he was 10 minutes late and then he shows up with a new camera, which I know cost him a fortune. And I don't think he has that kind of money. Definitely not to spend on me. And I don't even want him to spend it on me! It's too much, too fast. It was an accident!"

"Maybe you're reading too much into it, Im. He probably just wanted to replace it. Just like he would if it was anyone else." At the doubting face Imogen gave her, Fiona conceded. "Okay, maybe a little more than just _anyone_ else. But only because he really likes you."

Imogen's phone rang again.

"Do you want to get that?" Fiona asked, moving to get up. "I can give you some privacy, if you want."

"No," Imogen reached out and pulled Fiona back onto the couch. "I'll call him back later."

"Okay." Fiona said, clearly a little bit uncomfortable.

"It just feels like things are moving way too fast. Like… last year I thought I wanted this, but now… I'm not so sure and I just… he bought me a $500 camera and he wants me to sleep over and I just –"

"Wait, he wants you to sleep over?" Fiona asked with a strange quality to her voice that Imogen couldn't quite identify.

The ringing of her phone disrupted their conversation yet again.

"Sorry," Imogen apologized, turning it to silent and tossing her phone onto her bag. "Yeah. I was at his house and he asked me to stay. He didn't make me. He said I could go, but... I don't know… I was going to stay. But I don't know if I'm ready for that with him."

"Well I'm sure Eli will understand. I mean, he's a really great guy."

"I know. But I just don't know how to talk to him about any of it, so I end up deflecting with his bipolarness, which I know isn't fair. But he's been acting really different lately and now I'm starting to actually wonder if I should be concerned." Imogen admitted. "I'm just worried about him."

Fiona paused for a moment as she thought. "Im, please don't take this the wrong way because you know I love you, but… maybe you're just scared? I mean… I know Eli would never do anything to purposely hurt you and I know he feels terrible about this morning. And you've had a really tough time over the last few years… and maybe you feel like everyone you love leaves you? Maybe you're just scared of getting too close to Eli in case he hurts you again? I mean, he was sort of an ass to you last year…"

Imogen pondered Fiona's words for a minute. "Maybe."

The girls ate in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Imogen emerged from her contemplations to find Fiona looking at her with concern on her face.

"Need a hug?" Fiona offered.

"Nah, I'm okay," Imogen replied, trying to ignore the hurt that flashed across Fiona's features. She just didn't need anything else to feel guilty about.

"More naan?" Fiona tried again.

Imogen laughed for the first time since that morning. "Always."


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey." When Eli approached her in the hallway the next morning, Imogen was nervous.

"Sorry I missed your calls last night." Imogen apologized because she wasn't sure what else to do. She supposed she should address the 500 voicemails she had ignored the night before. She needed a plausible excuse. "My phone was off. I brought the camera."

"Thanks. Um… I can explain."

"No need," Imogen replied hastily. She had a pretty good idea of why Eli needed the camera back. She knew he didn't just have $500 lying around. She wasn't sure she wanted to know exactly what he had done to get it, and implicitly, what he had done for her. It was too much. Ironically, intensity was the thing Imogen had come into this relationship trying to escape, and intensity was the very thing she had found. She desperately wanted this conversation to end so she could catch Fiona by her locker before class.

"What did you get up to last night?" Eli asked casually. If Imogen hadn't had 14 missed calls from him the night before, she might have accepted this as a normal and appropriate question.

"Stayed home. Homework and such." She wasn't sure why exactly she was lying. She could have just told him that she had changed her mind about her plans. After all, it's not like she was technically doing anything wrong by being at Fiona's. But she felt that increasingly familiar ache of guilt in the bottom of her stomach that she had spent the night there instead of with him. And if she was honest with herself, it wasn't just because he had asked her to hang out first. She felt like a horrible person.

"Weird. I stopped by. Your dad said you were out with a friend."

Oh shit.

"You went to my house?" Imogen said in disbelief, trying to buy herself time to think of an excuse. Why would Eli have gone to her house? And he talked to her _dad_?

"Around 6," Eli confirmed.

"Uh, my dad is such a space case! I was out walking my dog. You'll have to meet Volta someday." It frightened Imogen how easily the lie rolled off her tongue. She hoped that it would cover everything – why she wasn't home and any strange behaviour exhibited by her father.

"Oh, well that explains everything. I'll see you in class." Eli seemed to buy her lie, and Imogen was grateful. But at the same time, she was aware that a healthy relationship couldn't be based on lies. She just hoped things got better. She liked Eli and she didn't want to hurt him. Maybe Fiona was right – maybe she was just afraid of letting him get close enough to hurt her. He had already done it once, after all. Maybe after this whole art project thing blew over, she could learn to trust him like she did Fiona. Maybe they would be okay.

Xxx

"Didn't know you and Jake were friends," Eli said from behind her when she got to class. There was something in his voice that Imogen recognized as a mix of jealousy and accusation. She wasn't sure if she was more angry or hurt that Eli thought she would do something so awful.

"He's friendly, therefore we're friendly," Imogen said quietly, willing herself to stay calm.

"Okay." Eli sounded unconvinced.

"That's all, Eli!" Imogen snapped, growing increasingly frustrated.

"I said okay!" Eli snapped back.

"Sorry." Imogen apologized, hating that she and Eli were fighting. She liked him – she really did – but this wasn't healthy. She wanted to just be friends. They were so much better as friends. She should have never let Fiona convince her to go out with him. But she didn't want to hurt him, either.

"No, I'm sorry." Imogen sighed as Eli spoke, psyching herself up for what she knew she had to do. This had to end.

"Maybe we should –" They both began simultaneously.

"You first." Eli offered.

"Go somewhere and talk?" Imogen suggested meekly, unsure whether that would be enough to set Eli off.

"About?" questioned Eli.

"Us."

"Why? Us is great. Never better." Eli spoke quickly, as if he were trying to convince himself. Well it wasn't so convincing to Imogen.

"You really think that?" Imogen asked, disbelievingly.

"Don't you?"

Imogen studied her boyfriend's face for a moment before chickening out and turning back to face the front of the class. "Yeah, I guess."

Maybe if Eli didn't think anything was wrong, nothing was. Maybe she was just making all of this into a bigger deal in her head than it really was. Maybe Fiona was right and she was just making excuses because she was scared. Maybe she should give Eli another chance.

"Good. Then the only thing _us _needs to talk about is what we're doing tonight."

"I already have plans," Imogen said, bracing herself for Eli's reaction.

"With Jake?" he accused.

"Girls night at Casa Coyne!" Imogen almost yelled before calming herself down and adding, "You're welcome to join us."

"Hey, just because we're dating doesn't mean we have to spend every second together." Eli replied.

Imogen knew she should probably care that he was upset. She knew she should probably break her tentative plans with Fiona to make sure that she and Eli were okay. But she didn't want to. And she needed to know that whoever she was dating could deal with them not being together every second of every day. "Okay."

She turned around as their math teacher began class, but she wasn't really paying attention. She didn't know how to approach Eli, but she knew they needed to talk. It was times like these that she wished she could ask Lizzy for advice. Her sister always used to know what to say.

Xxx

"He broke my camera, went to my house, left me a million messages, gave me a new camera, then took it back!" Imogen recapped for Fiona, trying to emphasize just how not-okay this whole thing was.

She was beyond being concerned that they were moving too fast. Now she was just scared about Eli's erratic behaviour, which seemed completely out of character. "I'm worried he's having an episode, but he doesn't want to discuss anything bipolar."

"So that's why you've been hiding out here?" Fiona probed, finally seeming to understand that Imogen was, in fact, trying to avoid Eli.

"Is that okay?" Imogen asked, suddenly feeling the need to explain herself. "I feel comfortable talking to you about anything."

"Of course it's okay. But I really think you should give Eli another chance. We both know he's an amazing guy." Fiona was starting to sound like a broken record. Imogen wasn't sure why her friend was pushing this relationship so hard. She also wasn't sure how many more chances she had left in her to give.

There was a noise from Fiona's bedroom.

"Did you hear that?" Imogen asked, hoping she had imagined it.

"Yeah. What do we do?" Fiona looked panicked. It would have been cute if Imogen hadn't been panicking, too.

"Find something to defend yourself with." Imogen suggested as she got up as quietly as possible and pulled Fiona up with her. "And be quiet."

"That's your weapon selection?" Imogen asked in disbelief when Fiona came back from the hallway with an umbrella. Under other circumstances, Imogen would have found the image of Fiona trying to defend herself with an umbrella unbearably adorable. As things stood, however, she was just scared.

"You have a lamp!" Fiona countered. Imogen knew it wasn't the time to explain that the lamp was heavy, and had multiple long metal prongs as well as an easily shatterable light bulb and was therefore a far superior weapon to the umbrella, but she made a mental note to explain it to Fiona if they got out of this alive.

Imogen's heart was racing out of control as they threw open the doors to Fiona's room.

"Ahhh!" Eli yelped.

"Eli." Imogen was somehow unsurprised to see her boyfriend standing there.

"Adam?" Fiona, on the other hand, was very surprised. And angry. "Sneaking into people's houses? Who does that?"

"We were in the neighbourhood, so we thought we'd drop in and say hi." Eli's explanation was paper thin. Imogen didn't believe him for an instant and she knew Fiona wasn't buying it, either.

"Hi!" Adam added awkwardly. Imogen was disappointed in him.

"So, uh. Where's the French guy?" Eli's accusation remained unspoken.

Imogen scoffed. This was absolutely ridiculous.

"We were watching a French movie." Fiona explained, clearly irritated.

"You were spying on us?" Imogen couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice. This whole thing had gone way too far. And on top of that, she was honestly worried about how Eli was acting.

"Okay, don't say this is a manic thing." Eli shouted, angry.

"Then what do you want me to say?" Imogen yelled. "Because every time I open my mouth, it's wrong. I don't even know how to act around you anymore."

"Okay, but you were the one who lied about where you were last night!" countered Eli.

"I was here!" Imogen exclaimed, defeatedly. "Discussing us with Fiona because you won't."

"Can you blame me? Every time I express an emotion, you try to talk me off a ledge."

"I'm worried about you," Imogen explained quietly.

"K, tell her I'm fine." Eli shouted, presumably at Adam and Fiona. The pure anger in his voice made Imogen jump. "Tell her!"

Adam looked at Fiona, worried. He tried his best to diffuse the situation. "Maybe we should just let the girls have their movie night."

"Go to hell. All of you." Eli left them standing awkwardly in Fiona's living room.

"Uhh… I better go. I'm sorry." Adam muttered as he followed Eli out the door.

Imogen and Fiona stood still for a moment. Imogen felt sick.

"Are you okay?" Fiona asked tentatively.

"Not really," Imogen replied honestly, her arms still crossed protectively over her body.

"Want to watch the rest of the movie?"

"I guess," Imogen shrugged as she considered the film they had been watching. It was one she had been excited to see for months, but after Eli's outburst she wasn't feeling it anymore. "Actually, could we watch something else?"

"Of course," Fiona was understanding, as usual. "Did you have something in mind?"

"Anything that doesn't involve idiotic boys or French." Imogen still hadn't moved from her spot in front of Fiona's door, where she was staring intently at the floor.

Fiona walked over until she was facing her friend and gently lifted Imogen's head until Imogen met her eyes. "It'll be okay, Im."

Imogen studied Fiona, desperately wanting to believe that what she was saying was true, but she couldn't imagine how she was going to come out of this keeping Eli as her friend. He had been so angry. She felt like she couldn't do anything right. Whatever she did, Eli just wanted more. And it had lead to this mess.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when Fiona pulled her, arms still crossed, into an awkward hug.

"How about… Finding Nemo?" Fiona suggested as she lead Imogen over the couch and settled her in with a blanket and the bowl of popcorn before she headed over to her DVD collection.

"How do you always know how to cheer me up?" Imogen asked as she finally relaxed and snuggled into the couch.

"It's cause you're so easy to read." Fiona said sarcastically as she shot her a smile over her shoulder as she loaded the movie.

"Funny." Imogen glared at her, but had a hard time hiding her smile.

"It really will be okay, Im," Fiona said seriously as she sat down next to Imogen and made herself comfortable. "He'll come around."

"How do you know?" Imogen asked. "Not only does Eli hate me for that project but he actually thought I was cheating on him! I would never do something so awful!"

"I know," Fiona looked at her sympathetically. "He's an idiot for thinking you would. And he's a double idiot for blowing his shot with you. You deserve so much better."

"Ugh, why couldn't I just be dating you?" Imogen muttered before she had a chance to censor herself.

"You couldn't even handle me, Moreno." Fiona was trying to sound unflustered, but Imogen could see that she was blushing. "So, uh… ready for Nemo?"

Imogen nodded and Fiona started the movie before moving back to the couch and settling in next to Imogen, who lay her head on Fiona's shoulder and snuggled into her side. Fiona moved her arm around Imogen and rubbed her back comfortingly. "It'll be okay, Im."

"Thanks, Fiones. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Xxx

"Hey. Thanks for meeting me." Eli greeted as he walked in the door and sat down at Imogen's table. "What's this?"

"My art project. I took it down and withdrew it from the art competition." Imogen had figured it was the least she could do. Even if she and Eli were clearly never meant to be, she didn't want to hurt him. And her collage, even though it hadn't be intended to, had really upset him.

"For me." Eli acknowledged. Imogen felt so nervous. She was bracing herself for another outburst. "Can I take it?"

Eli's question surprised Imogen, but she relaxed a little bit. "I thought you hated it."

"Well I've been doing a lot of thinking," explained Eli as he reached out to grab the rolled up tube.

Imogen turned away, suddenly unsure about where this was going. What if Eli didn't want to break up? Imogen wasn't sure what she would do. She nervously chewed on the insides of her cheeks.

"Breaking into Fiona's condo wasn't my finest moment. I just didn't want to lose another girl because of my condition. I - I'm sorry."

"You scared me," Imogen said, honestly.

"Yeah, I scared myself," insisted Eli. "But the good thing is I wasn't having a manic episode, just good old-fashioned paranoid jealousy."

Eli's joking broke a little bit of the tension, but Imogen still had some things she needed to say. "I spent a year fantasizing about you, dreaming about being your girlfriend, but now that we're together, it's like I barely know you."

That was the closest she could come right now to explaining how she really felt.

"Or you know me too well," joked Eli.

Imogen took a deliberate breath, steeling herself for what she knew she had to say next. "I don't think you and I are good for each other."

"We were," Eli murmured. "When we were friends. Or did I mess that up, too?"

Imogen took another deep breath, trying to figure out whether their friendship could survive this. "I hope not."

"You hope we can't be friends?" Eli looked hurt, but resigned.

"No! I hope you didn't mess it up, too. I mean… I want to be friends," Imogen clarified. "I just… give me a few days?"

"Okay," replied Eli as Imogen got up to leave. "Hey, you never really answered me – can I keep this?"

"Sure," Imogen gave him a half-hearted smile. "I'll see you around?"

Xxx

"I mean, for all intents and purposes, I was the one who broke up with him, and I know that it wasn't a good idea for us to stay together, so why am I so bummed about it?"

"Break ups suck." Fiona shrugged as she stole Imogen's glass and took a sip of her blueberry cheesecake smoothie. "It hurts when you can't make something work, especially if you really like the other person."

"Yeah," Imogen agreed, laying a tile to finish her castle and moving her player up 8 spaces. "I guess. And it does earn him points that he submitted my art project to OYAC. I know he's sorry for how things happened."

"So are you two going to be alright?" Fiona asked as she contemplated the Carcassonne board.

"I think so. I mean, if we could be friends after last year, I'm sure we can be friends again now. I don't think he hates me, and I certainly don't hate him. He just… doesn't understand me the way I thought he would. We don't bring out the best in each other."

"Mmm…" Fiona made a small non-committal noise as she placed a token on a road.

"Are _you_ going to be alright?" probed Imogen as she snatched back her smoothie.

"Me?" Fiona laughed. "Why wouldn't I be alright?"

"I don't know. You were the one who was always pushing hardcore for me and Eli to get together."

"I told you – I just wanted my two besties to be happy. And if being together made you unhappy – which I know it did – then I definitely want you to be apart." Fiona paused before adding. "Just maybe not too far apart."

Imogen laughed as she played the last tile. "I guess I should go talk to him. Pretty sure I just won, by the way."

"You suck, Im," Fiona pretended to sulk, but her smile gave her away.

"That's 'Her Royal Highness, Queen of Board Games' to you, Miss Coyne."

"Go make up with Eli, your highness," Fiona teased sarcastically.

Xxx

Eli's dad let her in. He explained that Eli had just come back from a run, but that she could follow him up to Eli's room. She wasn't sure why exactly Eli's dad decided to have a heart-to-heart with his son when she was standing three feet away, so she tried her best not to pay attention. She also tried her best not to let the irrational jealousy that flared up in her stomach get too out of control. She just wished that her dad would talk to her like that again – like he cared what happened to her.

"Uh, hey." Eli was obviously surprised to see her there.

"Bad time?" Imogen questioned awkwardly from the doorway.

"No no no, just keep your distance." Eli joked.

"So I got a call from the Ontario Youth Art Competition and apparently I'm in the running for the emerging artist award."

"Oh good, they got it." Eli replied, non-chalant.

"You sent in my collage."

"It's a very nice piece of art." Countered Eli.

"I didn't mean to make you a poster child." Imogen apologized sincerely. She hadn't really thought about how it might make Eli feel when she made it. Her intentions had been so different than the reality.

"Well if it shows that mental illness doesn't have to be a stigma, why not? You hungry? Wanna grab burritos?" And just like that, Imogen knew they were going to be okay.

"Umm. They make me gassy." She admitted.

"Yeah, me too."

"Good thing we're not dating," teased Imogen, only with a slight hesitation.

If they could joke about it, they would be back to normal in no time. When Eli's face lit up in a smile, Imogen was certain they would be fine.

They decided Eli would shower and then they would go eat, so Imogen went downstairs to wait for him. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket as she heard the water turn on upstairs. _So how'd it go?_

_Good_. Imogen typed back with a smile on her face. _We're going for burritos._

_I'm glad. Say hi to Eli for me._

_Will do_. _Do you still need help with that biology problem set? I could come over after?_

_You're a lifesaver. :) _


	5. Chapter 5

A few weeks later, Imogen was sitting in the caf doing the reading for her English class that she hadn't done the night before. She'd heard from Jake that there was a quiz in first period, so she was desperately trying to speed-read the chapters in case there was one in her period as well.

But when Fiona walked up behind her and announced, "Let's go. It's time to strike," Imogen immediately decided that the threat of a quiz could wait.

"Cool. Are we on a mission?" she asked as she got up and followed Fiona down the hallway.

"Rumour is Katie has a little pill problem and now she's missing school for rehab."

"Wooow and we didn't even have to do anything!" Imogen wondered whether it was still revenge if you weren't the one who orchestrated it.

"We've been waiting patiently since Katie and Marisol backstabbed us and now the useless cheerleader-jock student council is ripe for the taking." Fiona clearly had bigger plans – plans that probably _did_ constitute revenge.

They watched from the doorway as Marisol tried to control student council. If Imogen didn't know firsthand what sort of evil things that girl was capable of, she might have felt sorry for her.

"This is going to be easier than I thought," Fiona commented and Imogen smiled at how happy her best friend looked to be given an opportunity to prove herself on student council.

Imogen leaned back against the doorframe, ready to watch Fiona kick some metaphorical ass. She couldn't help but let her eyes wander over her friend's body as she spoke. Fiona was just so beautiful when she was passionate about something.

When she heard Fiona mention her name, she stepped up to her side for support, although she was confused about what exactly their incredible idea was. She watched from her prime position, trying to look as tough as possible as Marisol and Fiona sparred. She was so absorbed in watching Fiona that it took her by surprise when Mo grabbed her arm and escorted them out of the classroom.

As they watched Marisol smirk smugly at them from inside, Imogen turned to Fiona. "Soo… now what?"

Fiona looked dejected and Imogen automatically began to think of ways to cheer her up. Maybe she could bake her some cookies. Maybe she could write her a story. Maybe they could go to Snakes and Lattes and Imogen could let her win. Maybe they could do some online shopping at lunch. Maybe they could make a fort later.

For now, Imogen settled on giving Fiona a quick hug and leading her down the hallway back towards the caf. "So, uh, what is our idea for this 'era-defining end-of-semester event', exactly?"

"Umm… I dunno. I mostly just said it to piss Marisol off. Plus, I figured that between the two of us, we could pull off something epic. We work so well together."

Imogen smiled. They did work well together. She was an ideas-and-creativity girl and Fiona was great at organizing and executing. Together, they made an unstoppable team.

"If you could do anything for this event, what would it be?" asked Fiona.

"Anything?" Imogen considered a few different ideas before continuing. "Umm… a midway would be cool. With rides and games and cotton candy. Oh! We could theme it for winter! Snow and icicles and frost. A frost fest! A Frostival!"

Imogen watched Fiona's face as she spoke and the more excited she got, the bigger Fiona smiled. Of course, she knew a Frostival was out of their realm of possibility. But it was nice to dream, sometimes.

"Why? What would you do if we could do anything for this event?" Imogen asked Fiona.

"Umm… maybe a dance. A semi-formal with a classy theme. Old habits die hard, I guess. Too bad Simpson has that ban on after school events."

"Don't worry, Fiones. We'll get Katie and Marisol back. And in the meantime, I will secretly thank them for giving me my best friend."

"Me too." Fiona smiled at her and pulled Imogen into a hug before continuing, "But I still want to prove that I would be much better on student council that those idiots."

"And you have my full support, Miss Coyne. Whatever you need."

"Why thank you, Miss Moreno. That means a lot to me."

Xxx

"So you had one minor setback," Eli said after Fiona had finished explaining what happened at the student council meeting.

"Yeah, added to an entire semester of setbacks." Imogen hated hearing Fiona sounding so discouraged. It made her want to punch Marisol and her stupid student council in the face. Not that Imogen would ever do such a thing. But she could fantasize just fine.

"I wish I could offer something other than just moral support." Eli replied.

"Thank you, Zenmaster Goldsworthy," Fiona laughed before meeting Imogen's eyes. "We'll think of something."

"And in the meantime, maybe a little online shopping at lunchtime?" Imogen offered, teasingly, Part 1 of her Cheer Fiona Up Plan already in action.

"Mmmm… you always know how to make me feel better." Fiona's smile made Imogen feel like she was the only person in the whole world that mattered.

"It's a gift. I'm Italian. Ciao!"

Oh yeah. That smile from Fiona was totally worth being late for class.

Xxx

Imogen paused for a second outside Fiona's front door to catch her breath. She had gotten an emergency text from her best friend asking her to bring over her art supplies to make signs, but no matter how much she pestered Fiona on the way over, the other girl refused to tell her why. So, of course, unable to contain her curiosity, Imogen had practically run all the way to Fiona's condo.

She knocked, let herself in and made her way over to where Fiona was sitting.

"I brought paints, markers, stencils and enough bristle board to cover the entire school. Please tell me what we're making signs for!" Imogen rambled, even more interested now that she the look of complete excitement on Fiona's face.

"Okay, Simpson gave us the go-ahead to hold a holiday carnival," Fiona declared, delight lacing her voice.

Imogen's eyes went wide as realization overcame her. "A festival? Of frost? Nooo! A frostival? With cotton candy? Pony rides? A carousel?"

"Sure, why not?" Fiona grinned.

"A ferris wheel? Please?" Imogen just got more excited as Fiona nodded her agreement. "Ohmygod ohmygod please don't let me wake up and have this be a dream. You are the best!"

Imogen didn't mean to actually kiss Fiona, but she got caught up in the moment and in Fiona's happiness and in this thing that Fiona was doing for her. But she didn't regret it, even if Fiona seemed a little bit flustered.

"Well we have a lot of signs to make," sputtered Fiona.

"Damn do we ever! We might be here all night." Imogen knew she was being flirty, but she didn't care. Maybe it was time to up her game. Or maybe the excitement and adrenaline were making her braver than normal. Either way, she didn't care.

"Okay," Fiona's voice was a little breathy and it made Imogen want to kiss her again, but this time she showed a little more self-control. However, that didn't stop her self-control from slipping a few times over the course of the evening, when she took every opportunity to brush up against Fiona while they painted Frostival signs. Fiona's flustered responses and the fact that she never pulled away gave Imogen hope.

Xxx

Imogen walked into the classroom to find Fiona and Marisol arguing, but this time she smirked a little because she was pretty sure Fiona had this one in the bag.

"Shut up, Marisol," Fiona was saying, and though Imogen didn't know what had prompted it, she was sure it was deserved.

"Oh and throwing money around to impress your little girlfriend!" Marisol spat out when she noticed Imogen had entered.

"Hey!" Imogen protested. She wasn't just going to sit around passively and listen to Marisol insult Fiona.

"Pathetic." Marisol shook her head.

"Okay, that's it. Time out." Fiona announced as she took control and grabbed a ruler. "Shoo shoo shoo shoo shoo!"

Imogen laughed as Fiona herded Marisol out of the classroom.

"Hey! We're supposed to be working together!" Marisol was livid as she was unceremoniously shoved out the door.

"Then go update the marquee and leave the rest to us," replied Fiona before she shut the doors and stuck her tongue out at Marisol, who was banging on the door.

"Classic lockout," Imogen commented. They teased Marisol a while longer before getting down to business. There was a lot to take care of before Friday, after all.

Xxx

"Hey," Eli greeted her as she sat down in her usual seat in front of him in math class.

"Hey yourself. Why are you smiling so big, Mr. Goldsworthy?"

"What, a guy can't be happy?"

Imogen shot him a suspicious look before raising one eyebrow. "No, a guy can be happy. I just haven't seen you like this in a while."

Eli shrugged. "So I heard about the carnival. I guess _Operation: Revenge on Katie and Marisol_ is a go?"

"I know! I am beyond excited! The revenge thing is just a bonus, honestly. Fiona and I spent all last night making posters," Imogen couldn't help but smile to herself as she thought about Fiona.

"_Really?_" Eli asked suggestively.

"What is with you today?" Imogen gave him a look that clearly said she thought he was crazy. "You're acting weirder than normal."

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Eli held up his hands in surrender. "So do you have a date to this Frostival?"

"Why? Are you asking me?" Imogen teased, certain in her knowledge that she and Eli would never make that mistake again and comfortable enough with their friendship to know they could kid about it.

"I think I'll do both of us a favour and say no." Eli laughed back. "So?"

"Well, Fiona and I will probably be pretty busy organizing, so no time for dates." Imogen swallowed hard, trying not to let it show on her face that Fiona was the only one she wanted to spend the Frostival with.

"Ah." Came Eli's response, but it was accompanied by a knowing little smile. "So you're going with Fiona?"

"Seriously, what is up with you?" Imogen asked, avoiding the question even as she blushed.

Before Eli could reply, their teacher started speaking and Imogen had to turn her attention to differential equations.

Xxx

"The reaction achieved is a) mild, b) moderate, or c) vigorous?" Imogen asked as she fiddled with her goggles. Sometimes she hated her glasses. The only goggles that covered them made her look like a dweeb and left awful red lines on her face for hours afterwards. She usually took them off, even if she got yelled at.

"Compared to the one we got from Marisol? I'd say mild at best," quipped Fiona, and Imogen gave a little laugh and took a breath to steady herself before she spoke again. She was trying not to freak out about what she had decided to do.

She just wanted to get a sense of where she stood with Fiona. She'd decided that if her crush was unrequited, she needed to find a way to get over it so that she could keep her best friend. The thought of losing Fiona wasn't even really an option. So she was going to test the waters a little more boldly than she had previously and make her decision based on Fiona's response. She figured she would start off by letting Fiona know how much she meant to her.

"You know, this year would have been painful without you," Imogen began, trying to gage Fiona's reaction. "I'm glad you're on my side."

The look and smile that Fiona gave Imogen the confidence to continue, so she glanced at Fiona out of the corner of her eye, took a deep breath, and asked, hoping she sounded casual. "So was there any truth to what Marisol said?"

"I'm not going to apologize for using my money – " Fiona began somewhat defensively.

"No," Imogen interrupted, not wanting Fiona to get the wrong idea. "I mean about what she said about impressing me. Which you are nailing, by the way."

Imogen punctuated her statement by gently tapping Fiona's nose with her pencil. If that didn't send a message to Fiona, Imogen wasn't sure what would.

Fiona was looking at her like she was the only person in the world and Imogen felt her heart flip-flop, but before Fiona could answer her question, Eli interrupted.

"I'd call that a vigorous reaction."

What was even going on with him today? Imogen snuck a peak at Fiona, who was looking like she wanted to murder Eli. Maybe it was time to make a quick escape. She just hoped she'd get another chance to talk to Fiona later.

"Oops. We need more reactant," Imogen declared before turning and walking to the front of the room. When she got there, she turned around to see Eli and Fiona having a hushed discussion about something. When she saw Fiona look over in her direction, she gave a smile and a little wave.

"Is it just me or is Eli acting strangely today?" Imogen asked when she returned, reactant in hand.

"Is he?" Fiona asked as she blushed and fiddled awkwardly with the volumetric flask. "Um, I hadn't noticed."

"Right…" Imogen drawled, unconvinced but not planning on pushing the issue at the moment. "So you didn't answer my question."

"What question?" Fiona asked. Imogen could tell she was faking ignorance. But was that a good sign?

"Whether you were putting together this Frostival to impress me?" Imogen stepped deliberately into Fiona's space to adjust the Bunsen burner. "Because that's not necessary. You impress me every day."

"Umm…" Fiona was flustered. She kept opening and closing her mouth, as if she weren't sure what to say. "I just want you to be happy."

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

"Uh, I gotta go," stammered Fiona, gathering together their supplies to put away. "I promised Declan I'd Skype him after school. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Bright and early!" Imogen confirmed, unsure of whether she was just blown off.

Xxx

"Fiona!" Imogen shouted to get her friend's attention from the steps of Degrassi. "I've sold every last ticket. We need more! Hey, I know you – Holly J." Imogen was kind of surprised to see Fiona's best friend. Fiona hadn't mentioned anything about her friend coming home from school.

"I'm just back for the holidays," explained Holly J with a smile.

"From Yale. I know. Your handprints are right there. It's like I'm in the presence of royalty." Imogen bowed, hoping she wasn't embarrassing Fiona too much, but when she looked up, her best friend was smiling.

"You must be Imogen," guessed Holly J. "Fiona's told me all about you."

Imogen paused, wondering just how much "all about" was and whether she was really a topic of conversation between the two friends. She looked at Fiona questioningly, but her friend just blushed and sputtered out "Aaand she was just leaving!"

"I will see you later. Good luck!" And that, Fiona's best friend was off, leaving Imogen and Fiona to discuss their Frostival plans.

"Okay! So, I drew up blueprints!" Imogen explained as she lead Fiona over to a bench to show off her work from the night before. She was determined to help Fiona as much as possible to make this carnival amazing and win her friend a seat on student council. And if she happened to impress Fiona right back in the process, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. "Here is the ferris wheel, carousel, carnival games, along with generators and electrical drops."

"Looks great, Imogen. Great." Fiona praised, and Imogen beamed.

"Well I mean, you put up so much of your own money to make this the most mind-blowing Frostival _ever_– "

"Imogen," Fiona interrupted, embarrassed.

"Next term, you and I will rule the school together!" Imogen finished, excitedly. She couldn't wait. When Fiona was strangely quiet and gave her a smile that wasn't quite sincere, Imogen asked "Is everything okay?"

"Of course." Fiona insisted. "The show must go on."

Imogen giggled at the odd turn of phrase usually reserved for when something bad happened. "Want to grab a coffee before class? My treat!"

"I can't. I've got to go talk to Simpson." Fiona looked upset.

"Need me to come with? I could show him my bluepr—"

"No!" Fiona interrupted. "Uh, no. It's okay. Your blueprints are amazing. I just need to talk to him about boring money stuff. I'll see you in class?"

"Sure," Imogen replied. Fiona was probably just stressed out about all the planning. She would do everything she could to help with the Frostival and make sure Fiona had an amazing time. Imogen started making a mental list of everything that needed to get done before Friday.

Xxx

"Oh, Holly J!" Imogen was a little surprised to see Fiona's best friend at the condo, but she supposed that was what happened when she showed up unannounced. Besides, more hands made light work, right? "Who's up for a late-night snowflake cutout bash? If we want to get the Frostival decorated in time – "

"Imogen! There are more important things in life than a stupid carnival, okay?" Fiona interrupted, clearly pissed off.

"Why are you yelling at me? And why are you packing?" She and Fiona hadn't fought since Fiona had tried to set her and Eli up. What was going on? Where was Fiona going? And why hadn't she told Imogen? Dread began to creep up over Imogen's entire body, leaving her with an awful sinking feeling.

"There's just a lot of things going on with me that you don't know about." That hurt Imogen more than anything else Fiona could yell at her. To think that Fiona hadn't trusted her enough to tell her what was going on with her – and whatever it was, it was clearly really important – killed Imogen.

"You can tell me anything," Imogen asserted, trying to be supportive even though she felt like crying.

"My family's in serious trouble." Imogen's heart sank as Fiona spoke. She knew what it was like to have your family in trouble and she wouldn't wish it on her worst enemy, let alone her best friend. "For the first time in my life, I'm broke."

"Okay… Well you still have your health." Imogen was trying to stay positive for her friend. After all, money wasn't everything. It would be hard for a while, but it was almost a relief. Everyone was okay. Fiona would be okay.

"That's not funny." Fiona was obviously not looking at it that way, yet.

"I'm just trying to look on the bright side."

"There is no bright side!" Fiona went back to the yelling. "I came back to Degrassi to prove myself, but I got bullied out of student council, my marks are mediocre, the carnival's a bust, I –"

"What?" Imogen couldn't believe that Fiona hadn't told her. Not when she'd seen how hard Imogen had been working on the Frostival. For Fiona. She didn't even care so much about the actual Frostival. It was that Fiona _hadn't told her_.

Fiona sighed. "I failed. So tomorrow, I'm moving back to New York. You should just go."

And just like that, every one of Imogen's fears was confirmed. I mean, if her best friend in the world was planning on leaving without even telling her… It was just like everyone else she'd ever loved… She felt like such an idiot for actually letting Fiona in and trusting her.

"Fine. Run away. Be a quitter."

Imogen left and didn't look back.


	6. Chapter 6

_Im, I_'_m sorry. Let me explain. Call me? _Imogen's vision blurred as she read the text message for the third time. She was almost home. She just had to hold it together for a few more minutes.

The house was dark when she walked up, and she was greeted by Volta, who clearly needed a walk. Grabbing the leash and throwing her phone on the kitchen table, Imogen went back out into the night. Maybe a walk would help clear her head.

As Volta smelled her way through their neighbourhood, Imogen thought. She thought about how, once times got tough, everyone left her. And how Liz was the only one who couldn't help it. She thought about how her dad was still here, but he wasn't really, and she couldn't help thinking that if he really wanted to, he could actually be a father. And she thought about her mom… How she just reminded her mom of everything that she had lost. But Fiona… Fiona had promised she would always be there, and Imogen had believed her. She felt so stupid.

She shouldn't have been so dumb as to think that Fiona would tell her about something as important as moving back to New York. Fiona had her other friends – her real friends – to tell. Holly J came back _from Yale_ to help her, after all. Imogen just felt like a placeholder for someone better, and she was horrified that she had thought she had a true connection with Fiona.

By the time Imogen got home, she had worked herself up into a complete mess. She leaned against the wall in her dark and empty kitchen as she waited for the kettle to boil and she cried. When her phone buzzed on the table, she jumped.

_Okay, you're clearly mad at me tonight, but call me tomorrow? Please? I'm sorry._

Imogen stared at the screen until the whistle of the kettle became too loud to ignore.

Her father almost gave her a heart attack when she turned around, and considering how high she jumped, it was a miracle she didn't spill her tea.

"Dad!" Imogen exclaimed, wiping her tears away hastily. "You scared me."

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Uh, sure." Imogen poured her father a cup of tea and sat across from him at the table. They sat in silence, drinking their tea.

"How did your house project go?" her dad asked.

"It went well." Imogen replied, surprised that her dad even remembered that she had asked him a question about support walls. Even if it was two months too late, it made her a kind of happy. "We – Fiona and I – got an A+."

"That_'_s wonderful, Immie."

"Thanks," Imogen smiled. No matter how checked out he was, she couldn't help but wanting her dad to be proud of her. "We used a lot of the techniques you taught me, plus Fiona made us put in a hot tub and a giant chandelier."

Her father nodded, and neither of them spoke again for a number of minutes.

"Well, goodnight." Her dad left his tea on the table as he went down the hall to his office.

"Night, dad."

As she stared at the empty doorway, Imogen's phone lit up in her hands. _I can't go back to NY with you mad at me. You're one of my best friends and I don't want to lose you. I'm so sorry. Goodnight, Im._

Damn Fiona Coyne. Imogen just wanted to be mad at her.

New tears formed in her eyes, and Imogen wasn't sure if they were because of her father or Fiona or both.

Xxx

"Excuse me? Which way to the freak show?" Imogen approached Fiona as soon as she saw Marisol leave.

She had spent all night and most of the morning crying and wondering what to do. The she spent most of the afternoon trying to convince herself she didn't care if Fiona was leaving and dodging Fiona's phone calls and text messages. And about 20 minutes ago, she finally decided she would come to Degrassi to make the most of her last day with Fiona.

"Right here? I was starting to think you were avoiding me." Fiona looked relieved.

"I tried, but I suck at it." Imogen wasn't lying. She wasn't sure she would ever be good at avoiding Fiona. The older girl just had a way of drawing her in, no matter how hard Imogen tried to fight it. She looked around at the carnival. "This is better than I imagined. How did you do it?"

"I sold my things." Fiona admitted.

"Wow." Imogen was surprised. She knew how much that would have taken. She briefly wondered why Fiona would do that. Then again, she hadn't ever pegged Fiona for a quitter, despite what she had said the night before, so maybe it wasn't so surprising.

"And now that I've downsized, I feel liberated – like for the first time in my life I can do anything."

"I always imagined you could do anything," Imogen said sincerely, before changing the subject, unwilling to get too emotional. "Now don't you dare ask me to go on the carousel with you."

"Oh, okay." Fiona looked disappointed and confused.

"Reverse psychology! Come on!" Imogen laughed, grabbing Fiona and dragging her onto the ride. If Fiona was leaving, she was going to make today count. And now that she had nothing to lose, a plan was developing.

She was going to spend the Frostival with Fiona. She was going to walk Fiona back to her condo. She was going to tell Fiona she was her best friend. She was going to tell Fiona that she was the only person Imogen felt she could be her true self around. She was going to tell Fiona that she felt things for Fiona that she didn't really understand. She was going to tell Fiona that she thought about her all the time and that she wanted to live in her hugs and that she had wanted to kiss Fiona from the very first time Fiona made fun of her in their blanket fort. This was the last chance she might ever get, so consequences be damned; she was going to go for it.

If she could just gather the courage.

Xxx

"Oh my god!" Imogen gasped as her stomach flipped when Fiona grabbed her hand at the top of the ferris wheel.

"I know! Stomach dropping now!" Fiona chimed in.

"This is great, just great." She said, letting go of Fiona's hand. The night was almost over and everything suddenly seemed a little more real and a little more overwhelming. Fiona was leaving. And Imogen hadn't told her yet.

"Are you as scared as I am?" Fiona asked.

"Probably." Imogen replied, distractedly.

Fiona laughed. "I've never been a fan of heights."

"It's not the heights I'm scared of," Imogen admitted. Crap. Did she really just say that out loud?

"Okay, Imogen, in case I die on this thing, there's something I need to tell you."

This sounded serious. It was okay. Whatever it was that Fiona was going to tell her, she could take it. Imogen took a deep breath. "Okay."

"I…" Imogen was caught completely off-guard as Fiona leaned forward and kissed her.

To say that Imogen was surprised would be a vast understatement. It took her a moment to double- and then triple-check exactly what was happening. During this moment, Fiona had launched into one of the nervous ramblings that Imogen found so endearing. "Ever since the first week of school, I've had this silly schoolgirl crush on you and I can't seem to make it go away, which is a big reason why I thought moving to New York would be –"

"Fiona!" Imogen interrupted before kissing Fiona back in a way that she hoped left no room for misinterpretation. Even though Imogen wasn't exactly sure what it meant, she knew for certain that it wasn't just friendly. "I've wanted to do that for so long. I don't know what it means!"

"I hope it means that you like me?" Fiona sounded nervous, but Imogen was ecstatic.

"Could I be more obvious?" Imogen laughed before sobering up. "But you're leaving forever, which really really really sucks."

"Well, what if I'm not?"

Imogen couldn't contain her smile at the possibility.

The carousel started again.

"Woah, that scared me." Imogen moved her hand to grab Fiona's and didn't let go until she had to.

Xxx

It turned out that admitting your feelings for your best friend and then not seeing her for four weeks sucked even more than Imogen had anticipated.

When she had kissed Fiona at Frostival, she had thought it was her last chance. She had thought that Fiona was leaving forever. Now that she was coming back to Toronto, everything was more complicated. Imogen still wasn't sure what her feelings for Fiona meant for her, although she was certain that she wanted to be with Fiona. But she was a little afraid.

She and Fiona had talked about her past romances, and Imogen knew that Fiona was way more comfortable getting very serious very quickly than she was. While Imogen spent a lot of effort into giving off the impression of being an open book who regularly did things on a whim, she was actually exactly the opposite. She thought through everything and hid herself from most people. And even though Fiona knew her better than anyone else, she was still incredibly nervous that she wouldn't be able to keep up with her. If she had learned anything from her relationship with Eli, it was that she needed the option of her own space and she needed to move slowly. She just hoped Fiona would understand.

Before she left for New York, Fiona had promised that they would figure things out together. Imogen kept reminding herself of that whenever she started freaking out too much. And then she would remind herself of how electrifying it felt to kiss Fiona. Together, those two things pretty much got her through the holidays.

They hadn't been able to talk over break as much as they would have liked. When Fiona went back to New York, she was busy with all sorts of family things. Imogen understood. The Coynes were going through a rough time. And in addition, it was Christmas, which meant even more quality Coyne family time.

Christmas time at the Moreno house was mostly a charade. They went through the motions, but that holiday cheer wasn't there. This year, however, her father's sister came up and brought her two sons, both of whom were little terrors who Imogen absolutely adored. So even though her father was as distant as ever, Christmas sucked a little bit less than usual.

So between Fiona's commitments and Imogen's cousins, they didn't have a lot of time to talk. They sent sporadic text messages and tweets back and forth, and Skyped a few times, but it always seemed like all the important things remained unsaid, as if both of them were too scared to bring them up.

When Fiona told her that she had to stay in New York for an extra week to help her mom after Declan left for Yale and her father went on another business trip, Imogen was disappointed. It was just another week she'd have to wait to sort all this stuff out with Fiona. But she figured she would make the most of it. When she saw a sign for auditions for a band, she thought it might be a fun way to spend her last semester at Degrassi. She decided to keep it a secret from Fiona; when she got back, she could surprise her with her rockstar status.

The day Fiona was set to return, Imogen could hardly contain herself. She bounced around the house so much that her dad even asked how much coffee she'd had. It was going to be a fantastic day.

She left the house an hour before Fiona's bus was scheduled to get in, just in case it was early. She had even stayed up late the night before making a sign welcoming Fiona home.

When she got to the bus station, she sat down to wait, but couldn't stay still. She couldn't stop smiling and her leg would not stay immobile, no matter how hard she tried. She saw Fiona's bus pull in and she snuck her way through the bus terminal to the back of the bus, too excited to wait at arrivals with everyone else. When she caught sight of Fiona, she was momentarily struck by how beautiful she looked.

"Fiones!" she yelled, getting her friend's attention. "It's a sign! Eee!"

The gorgeous smile she got from Fiona reminded Imogen exactly why it had been worth it to wait 4 weeks for this girl. They stood there for a moment, smiling at each other.

"Im!" Fiona broke the spell and ran over to Imogen to pull her into a hug, forgetting all about her luggage. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too." Imogen blushed as she extracted herself from Fiona's arms. "Um… don't forget your bags."

Fiona rolled her eyes, but grabbed Imogen's hand and pulled her back towards the luggage area to retrieve her things.

Imogen was suddenly incredibly nervous and she couldn't figure out why. When her phone vibrated in her pocket, she was going to ignore it until she saw the number. She excused herself apologetically and answered.

"Dad, what's up?" Her dad never called her. Something must be wrong.

"Immie, it's Volta."

"What? What happened?" Imogen said, panicked. Volta was one of the only reasons she had even made it through Lizzy's death and her parents' divorce alive.

"She's not doing well," her father said, no emotion in his voice. "I think she had a seizure."

"Okay, I'm coming." She gave an apologetic look to Fiona. "Can you get her in her crate? I'll be there in 10 minutes, okay?"

She hung up and turned to Fiona. "Fiones, I'm so so sorry. Volta's sick. Dad thinks she had a seizure. I have to go. I'm so so sorry. I'll make it up to you?"

"Do you want me to come?" Fiona offered, a mix of concern and disappointment playing across her features.

"No, it's okay." Imogen wasn't sure she was ready for Fiona to meet her dad just yet. "I'll call you later?"

"Okay."


	7. Chapter 7

Volta was okay. They didn't know exactly what was wrong or if it would happen again, but the vet had prescribed some medication for her to take, and Imogen was keeping a close eye on her. But the whole thing kept Imogen up all night and today she was exhausted.

"I can't believe we only have two classes together!" Fiona lamented as they walked through the hallway towards Fiona's locker.

"We have the same study period?" Imogen offered, trying to make Fiona see the positive. In her opinion, study period was even better than class. She had a few ideas of things they could get up to…

"Maybe I could transfer into your calculus class," Fiona considered, making Imogen roll her eyes.

"It's too late to change," she reminded Fiona.

"Boo. I wish I hadn't come back a week late," Fiona pouted.

Truth be told, Imogen wished Fiona hadn't come back a week late, too. She had missed her friend a ton and was really looking forward to figuring out exactly what they meant to each other. But she also knew she had a tough week coming up, and she was grateful that her best friend was back in Toronto.

"You had to help your mom adjust to house arrest," Imogen said sympathetically. She really liked Fiona's mom and she hoped that everything would turn out alright. "How's she doing, by the way?"

"You're joining student council, right?" Fiona completely ignored Imogen's question, which was strange, but not completely out of character. But for some reason she couldn't quite place, Imogen was starting to get the same strange panicky feeling in her chest she had gotten at the bus station.

This was feeling like what had happened with Eli – too intense, too fast. She wasn't ready for all the pressure of having to spend all her time with Fiona; even if she probably would have anyway, she didn't want to feel like she had to.

She told herself not to jump to conclusions. They hadn't even discussed anything. She was probably overreacting.

"I might be busy with other things…"Imogen explained, giving Fiona a strange look.

"Like what?" asked Fiona incredulously, which pissed Imogen off a little. She had a life outside of Fiona Coyne. Why was Fiona suddenly acting all possessive and clingy? Especially since she knew about how much Imogen had hated that very thing with Eli.

When they turned the corner, Fiona looked curiously at Imogen. "What's with the jock-a-thon?"

"Your locker's now in hockey player central," Imogen explained disapprovingly. The hockey team had been grating on her nerves lately. Hopefully she and Fiona would be able to spend most of their time at her locker, which was fortunately not surrounded by Ice Hounds.

She watched as Fiona walked up to her locker and was immediately checked out by several of the boys including the captain. Imogen hated him already.

"The mysterious neighbour finally appears," he said smoothly. "I didn't dream you'd be so hot, though. Mike Dallas. And you are?"

Imogen honestly wanted to punch him in the face. It occurred to her that Fiona seemed to bring out that reaction in her.

"The wrong tree to be barking up." Fiona replied, unimpressed.

"That's a terrible name. You should change it," he tried again.

"It's Fiona Coyne," Fiona gave in. "Look, I'm flattered, but not interested."

"Well I love me a challenge," Mike boasted.

Imogen rolled her eyes at the idiocy of this guy. But she couldn't help but smirk a little at Fiona's response.

"And I love me girls."

That seemed to catch Mike off-guard. "No way! You're way too pretty!"

Fiona shut her locker and looked over at Imogen, who suddenly felt even more uncomfortable. She just knew Fiona was going to bring her into this and… they hadn't even talked about it, yet.

"This is my girlfriend."

There they were – the words that Imogen had been dreading. Not because she didn't want them to be true, but because Fiona had promised that they would figure all this out together. She had _promised_. And apparently Imogen had missed that entire conversation. Instead Fiona had taken it upon herself to figure it out for her.

She wanted to say something, but she didn't want to hurt or embarrass Fiona and she definitely didn't want this hockey jerk to hurt her, either. So she just stood there awkwardly, trying to convince herself that Fiona hadn't just violated all the trust Imogen had in her.

"She's a lesbian? And you're a lesbian? Is this heaven? I thought it was high school!"

Imogen looked away as Mike spoke, feeling sick and more uncomfortable than ever. This was just what she needed on top of all the confusion about what this meant – for her feelings for Fiona to be sexualized by some fucking asshole.

"Sorry, ladies," Mike continued. "I won't be able to buy this 'lesbian' thing unless you prove it. Let's see a kiss."

"Ew!" Imogen could not believe what a pig Dallas was. She couldn't hold it in anymore. He was disgusting.

"Ew?" Fiona looked at her with hurt and confusion, but Imogen didn't care. She was livid at her 'girlfriend'.

Fiona regrouped, taking Imogen's side so she wouldn't lose face. "Yeah, ew!"

"C'mon. Just one kiss," Dallas egged her on.

"Sure. We'll kiss each other," Fiona said. Imogen crossed over into full-fledged panic mode as Fiona walked towards her. It wasn't that she didn't want to kiss Fiona. It was that she didn't want her relationship – whatever it was – to be put on display for some misogynistic idiots. "After you kiss him."

Imogen barely registered the last part of what Fiona said. She needed to get out of there immediately. "I have to go."

"Wait! Are we having lunch together?" Fiona practically pleaded.

"Can't. Band practice." Imogen's rejection was curt. She couldn't deal with Fiona right now. She had too much else going on.

"You joined a band?" Fiona said, surprised. Imogen had forgotten to tell her amidst everything that had happened over the last few days. "That's so silly. Do you even play an instrument?"

Imogen felt like an idiot when Fiona dismissed the band like it wasn't important at all. It seemed like all day, Fiona thought that nothing Imogen thought or did was important enough to bother asking about or supporting. All Fiona seemed to care about was the title of being Imogen's girlfriend.

Imogen felt like her chest was crushing in on itself. She needed to go. She couldn't be around someone who didn't respect her enough to care about her feelings and her decisions.

"Sort of. I gotta run."

Xxx

The next afternoon, Imogen paced through her house, her stomach in knots. Her mother would be there soon to pick her up for dinner. Her father was nowhere to be found, which wasn't that unusual, but she wished he could at least pretend for her mother. She wanted her mom to be jealous that she hadn't chosen to take Imogen with her. She wanted her mom to feel bad for leaving them.

Her mother was in town from Ottawa. Apparently she thought they should spend the anniversary of Liz's birthday together. And so Imogen found herself in a very conservative dress with her hair down, waiting for her mother to pull into the driveway and wishing she was doing anything else.

She just wanted to talk to Fiona, who was the only person in the world who would understand why this was all such a big deal, but they were fighting. Because apparently Imogen ruined everything good she ever touched, like some sort of King Midas but with badness instead of gold.

She took out her phone and unlocked it. She scrolled through her contacts and hovered over Fiona's name. Finally, she clicked it and began typing. _I am going for dinner with my mom and I am freaking out! _

She erased it and started again. _I'm sorry about yesterday. I'm just stressed. It's Liz's birthday tomorrow and my mom's in town and you and I haven't talked about what anything means._ She erased that message as well. It seemed like a lot of stuff to dump on Fiona via text message.

She sighed and tried again. _I just need my best friend right now._ She knew Fiona would take that the wrong way, even though it was true. She erased it, too, and put her phone back in the purse she hadn't touched since the last time she saw her mother.

When she heard the car pull up, she ran out the door before her mother could come in.

Xxx

"Umm…?" Imogen had come looking for Fiona with the intent of apologizing to her and explaining what had been going on with her and why she just needed to forget about everything today, but she forgot all that when she say Fiona lounging around with asshole hockey guy.

"Oh. Hey, Immie. What's up?"

Imogen cringed at the nickname she had gotten when she was young. Where did Fiona even get that from? The only person who still called her that was her dad, and to hear it from anyone else – even Fiona– just seemed wrong. Especially today. It put her on edge.

"It can wait." Imogen said, still trying to figure out what exactly she was seeing in front of her. Because it looked like Fiona was flirting or at least being overly friendly with the homophobic jock named Mike Dallas.

"I'll go, uh, check on Bo and Ingvar," he muttered, wisely leaving the girls alone.

"What is it?" Fiona asked.

"I just thought that maybe we could talk, but obviously you're too busy flirting with _a guy_ for that," Imogen said, irritated, confused, and maybe a bit jealous. One minute, Fiona was planning their entire lives together and getting upset if Imogen didn't want to spend every second with her, then next she was trying to impress Mike fucking Dallas.

"We were just joking around." Fiona explained as she followed Imogen down the hall. "It's hard work planning a dance – you know, so your band can play."

That just confirmed everything Imogen had feared. She shook her head in disappointment, which was clearly not the reaction Fiona had anticipated. "When Mo told me about this dance, I knew it. You organized it for me. But you said my band was silly."

Fiona had really hurt her the other day when she brushed off the band. Even if she hadn't had a chance to tell Fiona about the family stuff going on in her life right now, Imogen had hoped she would at least get a little support with the things Fiona did know about.

"And this is my apology!" Fiona exclaimed, obviously not getting the point.

"So is that the plan, Fiona?" Imogen asked, getting angry that Fiona wasn't understanding. She didn't need a carnival or a dance or any other grand gesture. She just needed Fiona. "Are you going to throw an event for me every time you can't talk to me?"

"We can talk whenever you want!" Fiona said, losing her patience.

"No we can't!" Imogen burst out. "You came back from New York and decided everything: we had to spend every minute together, I'm a lesbian, I'm your girlfriend, let's broadcast it to the world."

"You're having second thoughts." Fiona looked so hurt. For the first time since Fiona got back, Imogen noticed how tired she looked and saw the dark circles under her eyes. Imogen didn't want any of it to be because of her; she had to fix this.

"I care about you more than anyone," she explained in a calmer voice. And it was true. Fiona was the most important person in her life. And what if she lost her? What if, just like with Eli, they didn't work out romantically? Imogen was terrified that if they rushed into things like she had with him, it would be a disaster. And Imogen would lose the only person left in her life who really knew her and who really cared. She could have dealt with losing Eli – it would have hurt, but she could have done it. But she wasn't sure she would be able to deal with losing Fiona.

"Well it doesn't sound like it," Fiona replied, every word stabbing Imogen in the heart.

"But you're pressuring me," Imogen tried to explain as she felt the tears well up in her eyes. She could feel it falling apart already. She wasn't going to be able to be what Fiona wanted her to be. She was going to lose her, just like she'd lost everyone else.

"Fine!" interrupted Fiona. "Pressure's off. Let me know what you decide." And with that, Fiona walked off, leaving Imogen in the hallway alone.

It took all her strength not to burst into tears in the middle of the hallway. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. Imogen _did_ want to talk to Fiona about their relationship, but more than that, right now she just needed to talk to her best friend.

The only reason she had even gotten out of bed this morning was because she knew she would see Fiona, and she had hoped the other girl would cheer her up like she had so many times before.

"It's Liz's birthday," she said quietly, under her breath. If anyone heard her, nobody let on.

Xxx

"I just… I can't lose her," Imogen was explaining to Adam as she helped him with his tie. She hadn't spoken to Fiona since their fight two days ago and she was going crazy. "But I don't know what to do or how to explain to her how I'm feeling. Everything is just so overwhelming right now."

"You should probably just tell her the truth," Adam suggested, understandably confused.

Imogen sighed. Somehow she doubted it was going to be that easy since Fiona hadn't seemed to take her seriously ever since she got back.

"Hey," Fiona walked into the hallway and Imogen couldn't stop her heart from skipping a beat. "Can we talk before you go onstage? Or you could talk and I could try listening for a change?"

Adam smiled at her and Imogen figured this was her chance.

"I'll meet you guys backstage," Imogen told Adam and watched as he left. Then she turned to Fiona. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to begin in a way that wouldn't turn into a fight. "I want to be your girlfriend."

"I like how this is starting," Fiona smiled, looking hopeful but cautious.

"But it has to be slow – like, _super slow_ – and I'm worried that's not going to be good enough for you." Imogen knew she liked Fiona and she knew she wanted to be with her, but she still hadn't figured out what that meant for her. And it was overwhelming to have Fiona try to mold her into what she wanted. She wanted to make Fiona happy, but wasn't going to change herself for her. If she was honest, she was terrified that the person she was wouldn't be able to make Fiona happy.

When Fiona sighed in response, Imogen just wanted to know what the other girl was thinking and whether she was on her way to losing her best friend. "Okay. Your turn."

Fiona shook her head and sighed again. "My world is a mess," she admitted, and Imogen felt guilty. She might not have been as supportive as she should have been, either. "Everything that's going on with my family right now is so up in the air, and I was looking for solid ground with you, but I pushed too hard. So whatever speed you're on, I can be on that one, too."

Imogen felt a weight lift from off her shoulders. That sounded like the Fiona she knew and liked so much.

She hated that Fiona's life was falling apart right now. She just wanted to fix it. But she also needed to be clear about what exactly this slow speed entailed. "That means no more events in my honour!"

"I promise," Fiona licked her lips, drawing Imogen's attention to them.

Imogen smiled for the first time in days as her eyes trailed over Fiona and she allowed herself to take in her ridiculously hot girlfriend. Her heart beat a little faster when Fiona spoke again. "So, um, does this super slow speed mean no kissing?"

Imogen smirked, finding it hilariously adorable that Fiona thought she would be able to resist kissing her. She just wanted to do it for Fiona and not for anyone else. "Just not in front of the jocks, okay?"

"Okay," Fiona agreed, her voice low and husky as her eyes flitted down to Imogen's lips. Imogen stepped forward and Fiona brought her hand up to Imogen's neck. When they kissed, Imogen's body went crazy. She pulled back from Fiona sooner than she wanted to when she heard whistling and clapping from behind her.

"Finally!" Mike Dallas was grinning like a maniac. Imogen hated him. Especially since Fiona actually seemed to like the pig-headed jerkface.

"Are you here to cash in on those two dances I owe you?" Fiona asked, a little too smiley for Imogen's liking.

"No, I'm good," he grinned as he walked away.

Imogen decided to ignore him for the moment, instead focusing on how happy she was to have Fiona back.

"Listen, I need to talk to you about some stuff," Imogen said. When she saw the worried look on Fiona's face, she scrambled to clarify. "Not scary stuff, I promise. Just… stuff that's going on with me that I… I want to tell you. Look, I know you're a hot shot student council member and all, but can you and I bail after our set? Go to your place?"

"I'll try my best to convince Marisol and Mike that they don't need my help for the rest of the dance," Fiona promised, reaching for Imogen's hand as they wandered slowly towards backstage.

Imogen stopped, pulled Fiona towards her, and leaned in so close she could feel Fiona's breath on her lips. "Did I mention there won't be any jocks around after we talk?"

Fiona smiled and she bit her lip. "I will make it work."

Imogen kissed her girlfriend before pulling away and tugging her backstage just as she heard Mo ask where she was.

"I'm here!" She reassured him. "And so is my girlfriend."

It felt so good to say that out loud. She looked at Fiona and couldn't resist kissing her on the cheek.

Xxx

"Imogen, I am so sorry I wasn't here for you this week. I know Liz's birthday and seeing your mom must have been really hard, and I feel like a total jerk," Fiona apologized when Imogen finished telling her about her week. "I am so so sorry."

"It's okay," said Imogen quietly as she snuggled into the safety of Fiona's arms. "I should have told you. And you're here now. I know you have a lot going on in your life, too. I'm sorry for adding my problems on top of all that. But you make me happy. You're just the only one who… I mean, I feel like I can tell you anything."

"You can. Always." Fiona pressed a kiss to Imogen's forehead. "And you make me happy, too."

Imogen raised her head to bring her lips to Fiona's, smiling into their kiss.

"How is your mom doing, by the way?" asked Imogen as she pulled away slowly. "You never really told me."

"Honestly, she's not doing very well. The case against her is pretty strong and it's going to take a while for it to go through all the courts. Even then, she might not win. She could go to _jail_, Im. And for now she's stuck in New York, mostly alone."

Imogen wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and held her close. "Maybe you and I could think of something to cheer her up? Put your amazing event organization powers to use for something other than winning me over?"

Fiona laughed. "Okay. Let's start tomorrow?"

"Okay." Imogen bit her lip as she stared at Fiona's mouth, torn between wanting to kiss her a million times and wanting to take it slow.

"Stay over?" Fiona blurted out.

"Fiones…"

"Super slow speed, I promise," Fiona assured her. "I'll even sleep on the couch. I've just missed you and I don't want you to leave."

"I missed you, too. And I don't want to leave." Imogen took a deep breath, considering everything. "You don't have to sleep on the couch. Which isn't to say I'm ready for – "

"Im, it's okay!" Fiona interrupted before her girlfriend got too worked up. "I'm not ready for that either."

"Right." Imogen swallowed hard, suddenly feeling awkward again. "Let's just… we can tell each other when things are too fast, right?"

"Definitely… Um, can I kiss you now?" asked Fiona, hesitantly.

"You'd better."


End file.
